An independent magazine about careful renovation of old houses. It is not a restoration company or a heritage authority, provides no services and has no connection with previous websites on this domain.
Tools
The owner of an old flat doesn't need a professional conservator's kit. Far more important are tools that help you spot a problem in time and avoid doing harm during cleaning and minor upkeep. A good lamp, a tape measure and a soft brush will do more than a sander in inexperienced hands, and protective equipment is needed even for the simplest job.
In an old house the most useful tool is a notebook. The date a crack or stain first appeared tells a specialist more than any hasty measurement.
How this section works: we list tools by inspection and care task and explain why they are needed, with no brands, models or prices. How to use a particular tool safely is set out in its instructions.
Six groups of tools that come in handy for anyone living in an old house.
A simple household meter helps you compare moisture levels in different parts of a wall or piece of timber and spot where they are higher than usual. It doesn't replace a proper diagnosis, but it suggests what to show a specialist and which spot to keep an eye on.
Brushes with soft natural or synthetic bristles are used to dust mouldings, tiles and window rebates without scratching the surface. It helps to keep a separate brush for each task and not to use them for dirty work.
Narrow scrapers and hand cabinet scrapers are useful for careful work on bare timber, for example to clean up a burr on a new splice. They are not used to remove old paint: it may contain lead.
A respirator, safety glasses and gloves are needed for any dusty work, even cleaning up after a renovation. Remember that protective equipment doesn't make work with lead paint or asbestos safe: such jobs go to specialists.
A bright portable light placed to one side reveals cracks in mouldings, unevenness in parquet and blistered paint that can't be seen under overhead light. A lamp you can set down or hang up to free your hands is the most convenient.
Useful for measuring rooms and windows, checking whether sashes and doors are out of square and noting whether the floor is sagging. Regularly measuring the same spots shows whether anything is changing over time.
How to get a timber window ready for winter and how to look after old parquet. And what you should never do yourself in an old house.
Caring for timber windows, parquet, mouldings, stoves, old doors and lime-plastered walls, plus a seasonal check.
How to plan a renovation in an old building: its status, a survey, approvals, choosing a team and signing off the work.
This information is given in general terms, based on the text of Russian Federal Law No. 73-FZ, guidance materials on the preservation of cultural heritage sites and safety recommendations for working with old coatings. Other countries have their own rules for listed or protected buildings. The status of your building and the work allowed are decided by the heritage authority, and the condition of the structure is assessed by survey specialists.